How Pilea Selects and Invites Coaches Into Our Network
Let's face it, sometimes the coaching industry can feel a little like the Wild West; it's easy to feel unsure about who is the real deal and who's selling snake oil, and for some people, that's a big enough barrier that they never even start looking for the help they need. Or, someone might take a recommendation from a friend or investor that may or may not turn out to be a great fit. The uncertainty of it all can feel pretty daunting.
This is exactly why we couldn't help but build our own pre-vetted network of coaches for our clients. One thing we promise everyone we work with is that our process makes finding and working with a leadership coach or therapist simple and painless. On our end, this means doing the extra work (oftentimes a lot of little things) to ensure that -- from the very first interaction you have with Pilea -- you feel complete trust in us.
It starts with setting and sticking to our standards about who we want to work with, and about what the real needs of our clients are. We are intentionally selective, which you might not find in other coaching firms focused on scaling as quickly as possible. To that end, we work with a select group of coaches to help us serve our mission.
Just as with entrepreneurship, this path isn't for everyone, and we maintain a rigorous coach selection process. This helps us to deliver life-changing work to our clients so that they become the leaders the world needs.
We believe that successful Pilea coaches have the following qualities:
They embody our mission and values in their own lives and work. We aren't just a collective of coaches; we are here to make our unique impact, and everyone both on our team and in our network chooses into what we wish to put out in the world.
They are as dedicated to their own leadership development as they are to their clients'. Our coaches live their own advice: they work with their own coaches, they learn and train continuously, and they seek out their own growth edges in service of something bigger.
They play well together. When we're all committed to making the pie bigger, there is no need for competition. Our coaches look to each other to make everything we do better.
They have a reason for doing this work. We share our stories openly here and use them to connect in a way that serves the world. Something within drives each of us to support the startup world. We all own it.
They can talk business and go deep, sometimes at the same time. Transformation requires us to go beyond best practices and time hacks, and it is most effective when grounded in our own personal context. Our coaches can do both.
The Pilea Coach Selection Process
All that talk is great, but what really matters is how we bring it to life on the ground. We've built a robust method for evaluating new coaches and welcoming them (with wide-open arms) into our community.
The first step is to either apply or be introduced to us. Many of our coaches have come from trusted folks already inside our network
Once we review a coach's application, we set up a formal interview. In this call, we get to know the coach both as a human and as a practitioner; not only do we learn about the coach's background, drive, and vision, but we also get a sense for the coach's personal goals, how s/he works, and the type of client with whom s/he is best suited to work. We also gauge the coach's experience with startups, as industry knowledge can be a critical part of a successful coaching arrangement.
Then we move on to the last step of the process, which is a mock session with someone on our leadership team. We bring our real stuff to the conversation and really get to experience the coach's style and capabilities. Not everyone makes it past this part, though everyone does get constructive feedback on what we think could help them improve their work.
The mock session also gives us an advantage when we custom match coaches with clients. Since we've actually seen their work in more than an interview or conversational setting, we have a great sense for what type of clients best suit each coach we bring onto the Pilea team.
This process takes time and energy, but it's our way of living our mission to bring true transformation and leadership development to our clients. If you're interested in becoming a Pilea coach, you can apply here. And if you want to explore how a Pilea coach can help you, sign up for a concierge call.